NOTES ON EGYPTIAN AND SYRIAN BUTTERFLIES. 65 



Pieris rap;e. — Variation. — a. Size: My largest specimen, a J 

 taken near Cairo at the beginning of April, 1903, measures 

 56mm. in expanse ; my smallest, a 3 taken near Alexandria 

 on April 25th, 1904, 36mm. The latter specimen was taken 

 among several decidedly large specimens averaging 50mm. On the 

 whole, P. rapae appears to reach a larger average size than in Great 

 Britain, none of my specimens, save that above mentioned, being less 

 than 40mm. in expanse, p. Markings of upperside : Apical blotch 

 varies in size, very indistinct in a 5 taken at Alexandria in June ; darkest 

 in the large 3 s taken near Alexandria, April, 1904. Spots on anterior 

 wings : Inclined in $ to be crescentic, or rather arrow-headed, pointing 

 towards the outer margin. One $ , Cairo, March, 1903, has the spots 

 large and blotched, of a dark brownish-grey tinge, also noticeable on 

 the apical spot. No absolutely unspotted specimens, y. Suffusion on 

 costa and at base of posterior icings, etc., most marked in winter specimens, 

 November, 1903, December, 1904, never very considerable. 5. Colour 

 of underside of posterior wings : The ground colour is usually darker in 

 spring and winter specimens, taken between November and March, than 

 in others. A $ from Alexandria, June, 1904, shows a very pale 

 yellow, indistinguishable by artificial light from white. The black 

 powdering on the wing, on and just below the discoidal area, is most 

 pronounced in winter and early spring, least in late spring and summer 

 specimens, some of which show hardly a trace thereof. «. General: 

 I find two characteristics common to all my Egyptian specimens. 

 (1) Absence of any pronounced shade of yellow on upperside of $ s, cream 

 being the nearest approach thereto. (2) Spot on inner margin of 

 upperside of posterior wings broken, except in one instance, where it 

 takes the form of a faint streak running down from the inner margin, 

 and two where an almost microscopic point is all that can be seen. 

 Records of Emergence. — Cairo district: March 13th, 1904, March, 

 27th, 1903, April, 1903; Alexandria: April 25th, 1904, June 5th, 

 1904, June 15th, 1903, December 24th-27th, 1903, January 10th-20th, 

 1903, September 21st, 1904; Cairo: January 20th-30th, 1903, May 

 1st, 1903, August 16th, 1903, November lst-30th, 1903. Habitat.— 

 Everywhere in cultivated districts, occurring in the Delta and Middle 

 Egypt in gardens, clover fields, etc., often in abundance. It is absent 

 from the desert and apparently the Maryut Steppe district, and I have 

 not seen it south of Luxor, where I noted an odd specimen in 

 February, 1906. 



Pontia daplidice. — Egypt: I have only twice noted this insect in 

 Egypt, viz., one small, very worn $ near Cairo, early August, 1903 ; one 

 3 seen at Port Said, June 13th, 1906. $? specimens taken by Guyot in 

 the desert wadis, near llelwan, are smaller than Syrian ? s. I under- 

 stand that /'. daplidice is very rare there; Mr. Marsden has not noted 

 it from the Maryut country or the neighbourhood of Alexandria. 

 Syria: This insect is decidedly common all over Syria — from sea-level 

 to a considerable! height in the mountains. Localities and dates. — 

 Beyrout district: very common, -Inly 7th-9th, 1904; Ain Zahalta: 

 in. in mid-July, in 1904, abundant; Jaffa: May 9th, 1905: Haifa: 

 May 10th, 1905 ; Beyrout: May 12th, 1905 ; near Damascus: worn, 

 mid-May, 1905 ; Trans-Jordan Steppes near Hedjaz Railway : end of 



I should say Asswan was as likely to be its southern limit as any place. 



